


Into the Lion's Den

by ThreeMagpies



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Gen, New Year's Eve, Porn With Plot, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-16 04:34:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5814376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeMagpies/pseuds/ThreeMagpies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Revolution fic:  Bass Monroe/Charlie Matheson, Charloe; Blackout AU, with Miles Monroe and Nora Clayton and a mystery guest or two. This story follows on from ‘And the bells were ringing out for Christmas day’ and catches up with Charlie, Bass, Miles and Nora a few days after the President’s Christmas Ball, fun and smut ensue… A birthday fic for Romeokijai ☺</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [romeokijai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeokijai/gifts).



> Author’s note:  
> Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this… ☺ and Happy birthday Romeokijai!!! Wishing you a truly wonderful birthday and hoping that 2016 brings you happiness and lots of yummy things (including lots of fan fic of course...) xx Magpie 
> 
> I don’t own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters. 
> 
> This story will have another part or two as well, featuring Miles and Nora as well as Charlie and Bass, so keep a look out ☺

The celebrations in Austin were still going several long days and even longer nights after the Christmas day Ball… 

First there was the boxing-day all-day mostly liquid luncheon hosted by Drusilla Blanchard and the first ladies of Austin, and before anyone really had a chance to get over that, the following day was the ceremony to present Miles and Bass with their Texas Ranger stars, which was followed by yet another state dinner – and lots more liquid refreshment. 

The day after that was the traditional Barbecue at the Ranger’s Mess to welcome the new Stars and introduce them to the rest of the team and the day after that a party to celebrate President Blanchard’s swearing-in which rolled on into the early hours of the next morning.

Charlie blinked, yawning…which was actually this morning unless they’d slept a whole day and a bit; and although that wasn’t entirely out of the realms of possibility, she was pretty sure they’d know it if New Years Eve had happened already because from what she’d seen of them over the last few days, Texans took their celebrating very, very seriously.

But it seemed like the whole of Austin and possibly the rest of Texas was sleeping in to get their strength back for the up coming New Years Eve party, because Charlie couldn’t hear a single sound outside their room except for a dog barking way off in the distance somewhere, even though it was way past midday by the feel. 

She smiled, remembering Miles hauling Nora off to bed a couple of hours before last nights party wound up, Nora laughing as he lifted her up and kissed her breathless, swinging her round and round in his arms until she was dizzy, helpless, her dark eyes bright, cheeks flushed and the full red lips parted and kiss swollen by the time he let her down… Miles had looked happier than she’d ever remembered seeing him, the lines of his face relaxed, his shoulders straight and unbowed as though a weight had been lifted off them. 

Bass looked happy too; in fact she’d seen a side of him in the last few days she hadn’t known existed, and it was really cute. It turned out that he loved dancing, and music… and the dancing had been a whole lot of fun, a bit like a sword fight without the swords, playful and sexy at the same time, a teasing game, their bodies touching in fleeting hot moments, hips swaying, eyes promising more and more and by the time the music ended she was dragging him towards the door too, and then... well…

Charlie’s lips curved, her tongue darting out, tasting him, her dimple flashing as she lay across the bed in their hotel room, the fire burning in the grate flickering and still giving out a gentle, throbbing heat. Her head was pillowed on his shoulder; his arm around her waist holding her close, his other arm lying hard curved and muscled on top of the blanket. She watched his chest rise and fall gently as he slept, a little snore bubbling from his lips as she leaned over to drop a kiss on the pointed edge of one of the long scars that snaked over his shoulder. 

He hummed and smiled a little, but didn’t wake up…

She sighed and slid a leg over and between his, careful of the soft, vulnerable balls and heavy, sleeping cock; snuggling closer to the long, deliciously hot body. He looked so relaxed and peaceful asleep, all the restless energy and force of Sebastian Monroe somehow banked down, simmering under the surface.

A beam of afternoon sun speared in through a gap in the blinds, highlighting the handsome face and making the little hairs of his ‘tache and scruff and the darker curls rioting over his scalp look like they were cast in gold and bronze. Charlie reached across and caught one curling strand between her fingers, it was soft and springy, bouncing back into place when she let go and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth to keep her laugh in… Not much else about this man was soft though. He was so very male, so very…him… And then her breath caught as she realised just how vulnerable he was letting himself be, and the incredible fact that he trusted her enough to sleep.

She looked over at the door. He trusted her and she trusted him, and each of them had earned that trust a hundred times over through a hundred battles even before they’d finally got it together to scratch the itch that had been building since she didn’t know when. But that didn’t mean that either of them trusted anyone else, except maybe Miles, and now Nora, maybe… Which was why the big chest of drawers was currently wedged in front of the door and the bed pulled away from the window and barricaded behind a couple of heavy chairs, putting them out of sight and reach of anyone who might want to try to look in, or shoot without looking. They’d also placed weapons ready in handy spots around the room and there were a couple of really nasty surprises waiting for anyone trying to come in through the door or the window without permission. They hadn’t even talked much about it; just worked together to do what needed to be done.

The smile widened. They made a damn good team although it wasn’t that long ago she would have seriously considered slitting the throat of anyone who said she was anything like Sebastian Monroe… Now, well things were different.

Bass shifted slightly and she shivered in anticipation as his arm tightened around her, his fingers spreading over her hip, sliding down under the blankets to squeeze the firm flesh and smooth skin of her ass, and suddenly she was looking into intense, crystal blue eyes that got closer and closer as he moved into kissing distance, drowning her in sunlit blue and warm, firm lips.

She offered hers up and he swooped down, sliding his hand out from under her and pushing her back against the mattress in a hard, bruising kiss that set her blood racing and her clit pulsing, his hand gripping the knee that had been between his, spreading her out under him, the soft, juice wet lips of her pussy open wide, his body and his cock, big, hard, demanding, sliding in, stretching her out.

And she let him in, invited him in, wanted him in as deep and hard as he could go… Laughing against his lips she held him as he thrust in again, and again, his body rising above hers like some painted god in a picture book, her breasts shuddering up and down in time with his thrusts. 

She wrapped her legs around him, lifted her hips to give him more of her, feeling the hair roughened skin of his legs between hers, the tight globes of his ass bunching, the big muscles of his thighs tensing as he fucked her in a hard, driving rhythm that had her panting, her pussy throbbing around him and wanting more and more, vaguely aware of the bed creaking and groaning under them in time with the slapping of their flesh and the liquid sound of his cock plunging in and out of her, the noises getting louder and louder as they crashed together until it sounded as though everything in the room was about to collapse around them… 

Charlie laughed, breathless and gasping, grinning crazily up at Bass and he grinned back, teeth whiter than white in the tanned face, and then he just pounded her harder, the bed shaking around them, his eyes holding hers, blue darkening to purple as his pupils blew out and she flung her arms up above her head, frantically reaching for the headboard to give him a bit more leverage and maybe, just maybe keep them from crashing to the floor… 

Then she felt herself exploding into sparks and fireworks and spinning wheels like their own New years eve party, the hot streams of his own release streaming across her belly like fiery jets and she heard her voice, screaming out his name and fuck, fuck it was incredible…

She watched, panting, her eyes hazy as he fall back onto the mattress next to her, his breath coming in hoarse gasps, the bed creaking out a protesting groan as they lay there, beached like flotsam left by a wave…

Bass chuckled, deep in his chest, then leaned over and kissed her, his lips soft now, tender, his hands gently smoothing heated skin, his fingers caressing the soft, full globe of a breast, the shallow curves of belly and flank, a smooth muscled thigh…

She sighed against his lips, reaching a slow hand up to his face, running her fingers through the scruff on his cheek and up into the sweat damp curls behind his ear….

A loud banging on the door made them both start, the handle rattling as someone tried to open it.

‘Shit…’ Charlie sucked in a breath, grabbed for the gun under her pillow, twisted round onto her belly and took aim for a chest shot, checking with Bass who was already up and flattened against the wall to one side of the door behind the chest of drawers, his own gun held up, ready to go.

He gave her a tight smile and a nod of satisfaction; then turned to the door, ‘Who is it?’

‘It’s me, you morons, open up before I knock the fucking door down.’ 

Charlie lifted an eyebrow, ‘he sounds pissed.’

Bass shrugged, grinning, ‘He always sounds pissed…’ he turned to the door ‘what do you want, Miles?’

‘Someone’s kidnapped Blanchard and Drusilla wants us to get him back.’

Charlie groaned. ’You’ve got to be kidding me…’ She sat up, her voice loud, letting him know she was pissed too… ‘The last time I looked there were about fifty fucking Texas Rangers at that party, why can’t some of them go get Blanchard?’

There was the sound of a heavy sigh and the thud of a fist on wood from the other side of the door… ‘Because after you two left, somebody apparently mickey finned the whiskey… They’re all out to it, and apart from Drusilla and the Padre, we’re the only ones awake enough to do anything.’

Charlie sighed heavily. ’Who said we’re awake?’

Bass shrugged, giving her a look that combined regret, apology and hot promise, ‘We’ll see you downstairs in five, Miles.’

Charlie rolled onto her back then sat up, put her gun down on the bedside table with a (careful) thump and reached for her jeans. ‘Shit…’

………………………………………….

Miles and Nora were waiting for them down in the lobby. Miles lounging in one of the old, sagging leather couches with his nose in a big mug of what smelled like coffee. He spared them a quick look and a semi sympathetic eye roll. 

Nora was leaning against the reception desk and grinned up at them over the rim of her own mug. There were two more steaming mugs standing ready on the benchtop.

Charlie finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, unable to hide a little groan… Her hips and legs were complaining loudly after what had just been another pretty intense workout upstairs. In fact, almost all of her was aching but she wouldn’t change a single, delicious minute.

Bass was just behind her, his arm going under hers as he bent to her ear, his voice a careful whisper. ‘Are you sure you’re up for this? You could stay here if you want’

She gave him a look…‘and let you three have all the fun? No way…’ Charlie shook her head, wishing she’d brought some of Grandpa Gene’s horse liniment with her, ‘I’m fine, just a little stiff…’

Nora strolled over to join them, handing Bass a coffee and putting the other down on one of the steps, pulling Charlie into a hug and whispering in her ear…‘you’ll feel better once you get moving, but this’ll help…’ and she pressed a little tub of ointment into Charlie’s hand…

‘That’s great, Nora, thanks,’ Charlie leaned back a little so she could see Nora’s face. 

The dark eyes so close to hers were hazy and deep shadows curled under the lower lids, but the wide mouth was curved in a satisfied smile and a large hickey bloomed where the delicate jaw met the curve of one earlobe.

‘You look amazing,’ Charlie tightened the hug, just enjoying the scent and feel of a friend she was still getting used to having back.

Nora squeezed back then let go, passed Charlie the remaining mug and stretched luxuriously. ’Well… it’s been a pretty good few days’ she licked her lips and shrugged, slanting a glance at Miles, ‘and nights…’

Miles strode over, frowning, ‘you know what I think?’

Bass choked on a mouthful of coffee, ‘what?’

Miles drained his mug, setting the empty down on a hall table with a clunk, ‘I think that Blanchard kidnapped himself.’

There was silence for a long moment, 

‘Why would he do that?’ Charlie finished her own coffee, grateful for the caffeine boost although it didn’t seem to be helping because that didn’t make sense…

Miles slid a casual arm around Nora and she leaned back against him, the sun-bleached streaks in her hair a shining bronze against his black coat. He dropped a kiss onto the shining hair then turned to Bass, ‘Blanchard? Walnut? Remember?’

Bass smirked, ‘that’s not something you forget…’ the smirk slid into an appreciative grin, ’So you think Blanchard arranged all that to have a little private time away from Drusilla?’

Miles nodded, ‘I went back and had a look at that ballroom, there’s no sign of a struggle, no one’s asked for a ransom or sent us body parts, so if someone did take Blanchard, I’m guessing he went willingly…’

“Ok…’ Bass shrugged, ‘so why spoil his fun?’

‘Two reasons, first, I could be wrong’ Miles did the little thing with his mouth and eyebrows that told Bass – and Charlie - that he didn’t think he was… ‘And second, Drusilla is someone I think I’d like to have on our side and getting Blanchard back will mean she owes us...’

Charlie looked from Miles to Bass, ‘Ok, so where do we start?’

Miles pulled Nora in close, a slow smile spreading across his face, ‘I’ve heard of a place that’s just up Walnut’s alley’  
…………………………………..

Charlie climbed down out of the wagon and had a moment of serious déjà vu… It was almost like they were back in New Vegas, the same tents, the same carnival signs and tough, slightly sleazy people; the same smell of whiskey, tobacco, weed and sex, the same caravans…the same music? She glanced up at Bass, tipping her head towards the guitarist, ‘isn’t that the guy from New Vegas?’

He was already looking, lips twisted in an admiring smile… ‘Yeah, someday it really will just be him and the cockroaches...’ 

Miles and Nora were just ahead of them, making for a large tent set off to the side of the main circuit, the dirty crimson and white striped bulk circled by a high chain link fence with locked, wrought iron gates in the shape of two lions touching paws in front of the boardwalk leading to the entrance. An elaborate, painted canvas sign with ‘The Lion’s Den’ written in large, gold, red and black letters was hung above, flapping a little in the breeze. A similar, bigger sign was mounted above the entrance to the tent along with two huge stone lions, one on each side of the door. 

Two beefy guards in the standard uniform of black shirt, vest, pants, knuckledusters and shotguns were lounging behind the gate on maxed out camp chairs, their faces set in almost identical expressions of torpid indifference and Charlie and Bass caught up with the others just as Miles was negotiating entry, a little bag of diamonds passing into each meaty hand and disappearing under the armoured vests like a well rehearsed magic trick… 

Miles took a couple of steps inside then stopped and turned back towards Charlie.

She stopped too, ‘yeah?’ His eyes didn’t quite meet hers and if Charlie didn’t know better she’d have said that maybe he was embarrassed, which was ridiculous… 

He cleared his throat. ‘Charlie, there could be some, you know, weird stuff in there…’ he chewed his bottom lip, and darted a glance at her…‘so…ah…maybe you shouldn’t mention any of this to Aaron, ok?’

Charlie’s eyebrows shot up, ‘Ok…’

He nodded, ‘good, that’s good’ he turned to go, then swung back, ‘it’s just he’s a bit, you know, straight laced? And he’s under a lot of stress with the Nano stuff,’ he shrugged…’and we don’t want him setting anyone on fire by accident if he gets upset…Ok?’

Charlie was having a lot of trouble keeping a straight face, because from little things Priscilla had told her Aaron was anything but straight laced, ‘I don’t think he can do that anymore, Miles, but it’s ok, I won’t tell Aaron you took me to another whore house…’

Bass shook his head and brushed past them, heading straight for the entrance to the tent, ‘for fuck’s sake, Miles, lets just go find Blanchard so we can hand him back to Drusilla and get back to having a good time…’

Charlie grinned, then followed him with Nora and Miles close behind her, so when Bass stopped dead in his tracks they all piled up like the carriages of a derailed train…

‘Shit…’ he sounded impressed…

Charlie tried to see what was happening but the bulk of his body was between her and the draped entrance and he was way too tall for her to see over his shoulder…’Bass, get out of the way,’ she poked him in the ribs and felt him move a little…

Then Miles and Nora crowded in behind her and somehow they all tumbled in…

‘Shit…’ Charlie felt her jaw drop…

Nora patted her shoulder, laughter in her voice…'at least this is a change from fighting and killing.’ 

Charlie looked around. The tent was huge inside, circular, dust motes and wisps of smoke hanging in the filtered sunlight, and even this early in the day there were plenty of people wandering around or gathered in groups, watching... Then she realised what they were watching… Curtain-hung partitions were spaced around the outside of the tent dividing the area into sections like the segments of a huge orange. And in each of the segments on beds, chairs and things she didn’t have names for, naked and nearly naked people were doing things to each other that Charlie had only heard about in hoarse and tantalizing whispers in some of the bars she’d travelled through on the road to New Vegas the first time, before she saw Bass fighting in that tent, before he saved her life in Pottsboro… 

There was music too, thready, sultry, a blond woman in almost there lingerie turning the crank of a phonograph set up in the middle of the tent, and every now and then the music slurred as she turned the crank too slow… And there were other sounds too; gasps, cries, panting breaths, the slap of hand or leather or wood on flesh, of flesh on flesh, flesh in flesh, and the smell, a heavy, erotic scent, of sweat, perfume, of heavy, drugged smoke and the combined juices of men, women…

Charlie felt blood rush to her face, the breath catch in her throat and her belly clench as she watched, there was sex everywhere, all kinds of sex… She puffed out a breath, and even though she’d been having lots of sex herself over the last few days, it was suddenly all she could think about…Then she felt Bass come up behind her, felt his arms slide round her waist, his lips close to her ear, and she knew he’d noticed, knew how she felt, what effect all…this… was having on her.

His voice was quiet, with an underlying tension that slid to her clit…‘Relax, Charlie, you’re just reacting to the advertising’ he chuckled, the sound tickling her ear, ‘and I’m pretty sure there’s enough weed and other stuff floating around in here to knock out a horse, let alone the rest of us…’ He took a deep breath, ‘all we have to do is find Blanchard and carry him back to his loving wife, then we can go do whatever we want…’

She turned hot, hungry eyes up to his, knowing he was feeling it too, wanting her too…

He groaned…‘Charlie, it’s not helping when you look at me like that…’ and his eyes just ignited into that brilliant, fascinating, amazing blue, his arms tightening around her, his body tense, his cock, hard, rigid, thick against her hip… 

In a way she was relieved that he was reacting too, that she wasn’t being a total moron. She took a deep, deep breath, determined to be professional, trying not to see too much, not to look too hard into the shadows - except… 

She pointed over to one of the far cubicles, to a large, fleshy man with his back to them, his white hair, pale skin and floppy white shorts gleaming out of the shadows, limbs tied spreadeagled to an upright wooden x frame and a blond woman in a skimpy, black leather costume standing beside him, something long, black, tasselled, in her hands, ‘is that him?’

Bass followed her finger with his eyes and she felt laughter start somewhere in his belly…’Yeah, that’s him, old Walnut himself, I’d know that ass anywhere. Good spotting, Charlie…’ and he turned around, searching for Miles and Nora. 

They were a little way away, talking to a very tall, very slim coffee skinned woman in a long, black dress, Miles making gestures as though he was trying to explain what Blanchard looked like, Nora checking out the cubicles on the other side of the tent…

Bass gently pushed her in front of him towards them, the hard bulge pressing against the top of her hip a reminder why, although Charlie didn’t think that a simple hard-on would even rate a second glance in this place…

She wriggled a little, laughing as she felt him take a sharp breath in…

One of his hands gripped her shoulder, the other sliding down to her ass, his fingers staying, squeezing her flesh, his lips and teeth grazing the side of her neck then sweeping up so he could run his tongue around the rim of her ear. ‘Later, Charlie.’

She laughed, the sound rippling down her spine and excitement pooling between her legs and she leaned her head back so he could reach her throat with his lips, ‘not too much later, Bass’

He chuckled…

The tall woman turned towards them, silver and gold armbands showing off toned biceps and dark tattooed swirls. Limpid, kohl rimmed eyes roamed over Charlie then up to Bass and the full, painted lips smiled. A cigarette held in one long fingered hand sent little smoke rings climbing slowing into the air and an elegant eyebrow lifted just a little. She started towards them, arms open wide in welcome, talking as she moved, her voice deep and sweet as honey and definitely not female… ‘Hello there, and welcome to the Lion’s Den, I’m Zara, what’s your pleasure?’

Charlie felt her eyes widen again as the woman who was actually a man dressed as a woman and very, very beautiful, swayed on high, high heels across the wilted, yellowing grass towards them…

Bass caught Miles’ eye, tipping his head towards the cubicle where Blanchard was having his good time.

Miles nodded then stepped out in front of Zara, his tall, strong body blocking her way, ‘Sorry, they’re with us, so we’ll just collect our friend and be on our way.’ He pulled out his badge, the star twinkling.

Zara pouted, sighing, ‘Now isn’t that a shame,’ then she smiled, including all of them, although her eyes lingered on Bass. ‘But maybe you could…all…. come back sometime? When you’re off duty?’

Charlie could feel Bass laughing again, his body vibrating behind her, and she grinned. Texas was proving to be all kinds of entertaining…

………………………………………

After President Blanchard had been safely and discreetly delivered back home with most people in his household completely unaware that he’d been gone at all, Drusilla had been so grateful that she insisted on their staying for dinner. 

It was a very, very long three hours and fifty five minutes…

………………………………………

Charlie climbed down out of their borrowed wagon, adjusted her mask and slid the spaghetti strap of her black silk dress back up over her shoulder, she wasn’t wearing a bra and her nipples sprang to attention in the cool air, little points tenting the delicate fabric… ‘I thought Drusilla was never going to let us go, Bass’

It was dark now and the party in the streets of Austin was well and truly in full swing. There were people everywhere, in costumes, formal wear, masks, bodypaint, whatever took their fancy and the streets were lit with lamps and coloured, many shaped lanterns. Musicians of all kinds played on every street corner and the wonderful smell of spit-roasting meats, popcorn, fresh bread and frying onions rose into the air along with the sounds of people dancing, singing, chatting, drinking, having fun… 

‘She was pretty grateful, and she did give us these clothes so we didn’t have to go back to the hotel…’ Bass passed the driver a small bag of diamonds, waved him off, then slid the thick, luxurious coat back up over Charlie’s arms, his fingers lightly dancing over her skin on the way up, leaving a trail of sensitized flesh behind them. Then he bent down, lips close to her ear, his breath lifting her hair, the satin smooth fabric of his formal suit and cape rustling as he held her and breathed her in…’Are you sure this is what you want, Charlie?’

Charlie felt her breath hitch in her throat, anticipation, curiosity, arousal and a touch of something like fear thundering through her veins until she could hardly speak, hardly breath. Because although she was far from being an innocent, this was a whole other world… She nodded, ‘yeah…’ His hands tightened on her arms and she felt his tension, his excitement too… 

The red and white striped tent was just up ahead, only a few more yards away… only now there were torches blazing at intervals around the fence and a lot more guards at the gate turning more people away than they were letting in…

Bass stepped in front of her, his eyes glittering blue under the mask and hood, a dark excitement whirling in their depths… ‘Charlie, listen, there were some things happening in there even I’ve never seen before, so if you decide you’ve had enough, that you want out, you tell me, ok?’

She nodded again, her heart pounding at the hot promise in those eyes. Then she smiled slowly, ‘ok.’

He pulled her hood up, arranged it around her face, tucking a strand of hair under the dark folds then smiled down at her, ’You look amazing…’

She looked up at him, ‘so do you’. Then she patted the knife strapped to her thigh, the high slit in that side of the long skirt giving good access, she also had her .45 in one coat pocket and a couple of spare magazines in the other. ‘I’m still me underneath all this, Bass’

He kissed her… ‘Wouldn’t want it any other way, Charlie…’ 

At the gate, Charlie felt the guard’s eyes on her, hot, heavy, leering… and for a moment she felt a sort of panic, a visceral memory of that bar, those men… Then she remembered that this time she wasn’t on her own, nor was she helpless, she’d fought and earned the right to go wherever she damn well pleased, besides Bass had his swords and at least two guns not to mention the fact that he was a bona fide Texas Ranger now…

So she held her head up high and smiled as she and Bass strolled past the men and towards the entrance, but she was glad she’d chosen lower heels this time, because damned if she was going to risk falling over in front of Zara…

Inside the tent, the only thing different from earlier that day was that it was lit by lamps, hundreds of them, hanging from the ceiling, strung from ropes, suspended from the posts that marked the edges of the segments, and the shadows were deep, multi coloured, flickering and mysterious. There were more people inside too, strolling around, watching what was happening in the cubicles, couples, small groups, singles, and the sound of more voices, the buzz of conversation joined the moans and the other sounds.... 

Most of the watchers were well dressed, many wearing jewelled masks and cloaks although some, both men and women, weren’t wearing anything, their masks painted on and their hair dressed in wild and exotic shapes and colours, and many had tattoos, their skins rippling with decorative colour and line. 

Charlie stopped to stare at two beautiful naked women dancing, twining and swaying together on a low polished wooden platform in the centre of the space near the phonograph. 

The crank was turned this time by a young, blond man in a black skin tight almost sheer body stocking, every golden line of his muscular form outlined in shadowy definition, his cock and balls hanging heavy and loose between his legs, startling in their pale nakedness… 

She watched, fascinated, as a slim, dark hand caressed a pale, rounded ass cheek and pale fingers shone against a dusky breast as the women kissed, their bodies pressed close, their sighs and moans rising above the sound of the music, becoming part of it, all three performers, the two women and the man, seeming completely oblivious to their half circle of avid watchers.

The air seemed to be getting hotter, heavy, and Charlie flipped back her hood to get some air and felt Bass lifting the coat from her shoulders, slipping it off her. 

She turned towards him, shaking her hair out over her mask… 

He’d already taken his cloak off, and was passing the heavy fabric bundle to a woman in a high necked, sleeveless, tight black dress, a lion’s head embroidered at her throat, a lioness tattooed on her shoulder. He whispered something in the woman’s ear, patting the pocket of Charlie’s coat, and with the brief sparkle of diamonds falling into a dark gloved hand, the woman nodded politely, smiled at them both, and walked away.

Bass looked down at Charlie, his hands gentle but heavy on her shoulders… Then he stroked them down over her arms to take her hands, his eyes that glittering, gleaming blue, his face almost impossibly beautiful under the mask, the shape of it smoothly accentuating classical cheekbones, a strong chin, golden beard, straight nose. 

She gazed up at him for what seemed like the longest time, everything felt surreal, strange, as though anything could happen, anything at all...

Then he held out an arm and she put hers through it, the fabric of his sleeve smooth and cool under her fingers.

‘Do you want to have a look around, Charlie?’

She nodded, feeling safe, hidden behind her mask…

A waiter, tall and muscular, in a sheer black body suit that covered all of him but his eyes came past with a tray of drinks. There was whiskey, some wine from California, Tequila from Mexico, fruit juices… 

Charlie took a whiskey and tossed it back, putting the glass back on the tray and taking another, draining that too. 

Bass gave the waiter a couple of silver bits for the whiskey but didn’t take one for himself...

Then, they started walking.

The first cubicle held a wide bed and at first all Charlie could see were writhing shapes, then everything came into focus and she sucked in a little breath, leaning back against Bass, feeling his heart beating fast, the muscles of his thighs flex, his cock stirring…

A man was lying in the bed, his hands and feet tied to the corners with soft ropes. A woman crouched, kneeling over his face, her back to the audience and her hands braced against the headboard while he worked her pussy with his mouth, her hips and thighs and rounded ass thrusting and gliding in slow, languid movements that got faster as they watched, her head lolling back, eyes hazy and mouth open slightly, crimson painted lips full and moist, her thick dark hair flowing down her back… 

Another woman was there too, straddling the man’s body but facing the audience, her arms resting on the muscular legs, hands gripping the straining calves, a red scarf tied around her eyes and her lips stretched around the man’s thick cock, sliding up and down, up and down…the veined, pink shaft glistening more each time it came into view, it’s nest of dark curls glittering with drops of spit…

It was like a dream… 

Charlie let her head fall back on Bass, feeling dizzy, her blood singing round her body, his solid strength real, necessary…

He leaned down and kissed the skin over her collarbone, little sucking kisses, his tongue leaving a little trail behind, then he drew back and blew gently ‘It’s ok, Charlie, everything’s ok…’

She shivered, pleasure rippling down her spine and looked up, meeting eyes heavy and deep with a searing need and she felt wet, molten excitement, knowing that he was hers… For how long she didn’t know, did anyone? But here, now, he was hers…

They walked on, one of his hands at the small of her back, spreading round her waist, his fingers hard, possessive, the other hand poised, ready near his swords, his eyes scanning the crowd, the hard, gleaming blue a propriatory warning under the mask…

In the next cubicle, a man dressed in a pre-blackout business suit was sitting on a chair side on to them, a woman lying face down on his lap, quiet, quiescent, facing away from the audience, her full skirt bunched up around her waist and her ass cheeks bare and stained pink above long, white lace stockings…

The man brought his hand down in a fast, hard slap on one full cheek, then the other, leaving the fleshy globes shuddering and a gasp rising like a wisp from the woman’s unseen mouth…

Charlie sucked in a breath, ready to say… something, except she couldn’t quite think what…

Bass chuckled behind her and leaned forwards… ‘Some people like spanking, Charlie, and some people like getting spanked’

‘Oh…’ 

They moved on…

Charlie was aware of other people moving around them, of whispered conversations, muted laughter, sometimes even applause but no one made eye contact with her, not deliberately… and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was with someone who looked - and really was - dangerous or whether it was some unspoken understanding, some sort of agreement about behaviour in the tent. Whatever it was, all around there was a breathless waiting, anticipation, a brimming sensuality... 

She felt heavy with arousal, heavy with desire, her breasts ached, her pussy so full and soft, her clit so swollen she thought that one touch would send her soaring… it was almost too much, too much of everything.

Bass leaned close, ‘are you ok, Charlie’

She looked up at him and licked her lips, her eyes huge, shadowy blue grey in the lamplight...’one more, Bass, then we go?’

His eyes sparked behind the mask, and his hand tightened on her waist, the fingers spreading out, hot, hard and possessive. A smile curved his lips as he nodded… ‘One more, then we go…’

The next cubicle was full of coloured shadows and fluttering silky hangings, the air full of scented smoke from an incense burner hanging from a post, large, soft cushions were scattered over a large, patterned carpet covering the floor. In the back corner, a man sat cross-legged playing a drum, the rhythm slow, hypnotic… In the middle of the room were two men, one dark, one pale, a slim, beautiful woman standing between them, honey blond hair falling in waves to her waist... 

The first man had a bottle of oil in one hand, directing a thin stream onto the woman’s shoulders, her back, her breasts, his other hand roaming over her back, her ass, her thighs, leaving her skin shiny, glistening… 

The other man was standing behind her, his arms round her, stroking the oil over her breasts, her belly, then lower, between her legs, the cheeks of her ass.

The woman’s eyes were closed, her head thrown back, her breath getting faster as the men worked, her breasts rising and falling as their hands spread the oil over her body, their own bodies becoming shiny, slippery with it too.

Charlie sucked in a breath and felt Bass tense behind her too, the muscles of the arm round her waist hard, rigid. 

The drumbeats got louder, the rhythm like a beating heart, slowly getting faster...

Then the first man threw the oil bottle away and dropped to his knees, his cock hard, jutting up tall and thick, the head curving in front of his belly.

The woman lowered herself down, her hands on his shoulders, the man’s arms under her thighs, taking her weight as she slowly sheathed herself on his waiting cock…

The second man dropped to his knees behind her, stroking her hair, her back, the spread cheeks of her ass, stroking more oil onto his cock with his other hand until he was glistening with it, his skin slick and slippery. Then he reared up, his cock thrusting between the full, rounded cheeks…

The woman gasped, her head falling back, her eyes closed and her mouth wide open…

The drumbeats got faster, harder, a driving rhythm…

Then all three of them were moving together, in a writhing dance that somehow followed the drumbeats, or the drumbeats followed them, Charlie wasn’t sure, but all she knew was that it was beautiful, shocking, primal… She reached back, found Bass’ hand, their fingers lacing together, gripping… and she could feel all of him pressing against her, his cock a hard, thick ridge at the base of her spine… 

‘Bass?’ she needed to go, needed him… 

He leaned close to her ear, his voice a hoarse, strained whisper that she heard above the drums… ‘Stay with me, Charlie, the cloak room’s near the door’

They turned together, there seemed to be more people now although Bass made a path for them, his tall strength and presence spearing them through costumed, masked men and women, heading for the door… 

…………………………………….

As they left the tent, a tall, dark, elegantly gowned figure turned to watch them go then bent slightly towards a dark skinned, stocky man in a tattered harlequin costume, ‘So, do you believe me now?’

The man nodded, his hands clenching slowly into fists, his eyes hard behind his mask…’Yeah, I believe you. That’s Sebastian Monroe, and he’s got the Matheson girl with him,’ He reached into a pocket and brought out a small, heavy bag, passing it to Zara, who took it with a tight smile, tucking it down inside her bra…

The man stared out the door, ‘and this time they won’t get away…’

……………………………………..

Charlie had no clear idea of how they made it back to the hotel, she had vague memories of a wagon, and streets full of laughing, shouting people, fireworks painting the sky, a man, trying to kiss her, and Bass scaring him off, his eyes full of murder, but somehow they did, the familiar doors appearing like magic in front of them.

They fumbled their way in, Bass triumphantly producing a key from around his neck, but in the lobby at the bottom of the stairs, too impatient to wait, he swept her up in his arms, Charlie gasping and laughing, helpless, her cloak and skirts trailing and one of her shoes falling off. Then he carried her up to their room two steps at a time, his hood low over eyes that burned down at her, the mask still in place, somehow…

Inside, he kicked the door shut and let her down, locking and pulling the chest of drawers across in front of it with one hand while the other yanked his cloak off and started on the buttons of his shirt…

Charlie lit the lamp on the corner table, reefed her 45 and the magazines out of her pockets then tore her way out of the cloak and her dress, kicking off her other shoe and undoing the strap of her knife, making sure both weapons and the ammo were safely on her bedside table before all bets were off…

Then, there was a brief pause while they checked the room… 

Bass looked under the bed while Charlie, naked except for her mask and one shoe, checked the windows, making sure the blinds were closed… the habit of experience making her double check the lock on the door and look to make sure there was no one in the small bathroom, Bass behind her all the way there while he was getting himself out of his jacket…

Finally… they stopped, panting…grinning at each other like fools…

Then he walked towards her, still masked, his eyes full of deep blue intent, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt then stripping it off with still a couple left. He kicked his shoes off and reached her with his belt and pants still to go, his cock straining the front of his pants it was so damn ready to roll…

Charlie kicked off her shoe but left the mask on, and she laughed, feeling dizzy, light headed with the night, with anticipation and with him…

Bass dropped his pants, stepping out of them and towards her, his arm sliding round her waist and pulling her up hard against his warm, hard self…

She swayed back, looking up at him, then reached up and slid his mask off with one hand, removing her own with the other and tossing them both somewhere…

Then it was just them, Charlie and Bass, no masks, no costumes… and Charlie let her hands roam over the firm chest, the tight little nipples, the sloping, muscled shoulders, while Bass leaned down and kissed her, his hands stroking her back, down to her ass, lifting her so her pussy met his cock, the thick shaft rubbing her clit, gliding through her folds, so wet she could feel the moisture on her thighs, the air cool on her hot flesh…

Then he lifted her, her legs wrapping around his waist, and he walked them over to the bed, laying her down, his face taut with concentration and her legs still wrapped around him, his cock just sliding in, stretching her wide, her walls so, so wet that there was a squishing sound as he plunged in… 

She came hard at the first thrust, a jagged scream of surprise and relief just bursting out of her throat, and then it just kept on coming, the orgasm rocketing through her in a wave that just kept going and going, her breath coming in little panting gasps, her eyes wide, hands grasping, frantic, at the hot, sweat damp skin of his chest, her nails leaving long, red streaks as she felt him come too, his seed flaring in hot, sweet drops over her belly and breasts, his heavy, delicious body falling next to hers, cradling her in a sweet, warm curve of spent flesh…

Charlie sighed, and stretched, her whole body felt like butter, melting in the sun… Then she remembered what people had been yelling in the street, what the guy who’d tried to kiss her was yelling and she turned to Bass, finding him looking down at her, his eyes a soft, swimming blue…

She reached a hand up, cupping his cheek, ‘Happy New Year, Bass’

He leaned down and kissed her, gently, ‘Happy New year, Charlie…’

She enjoyed the kiss then drew back a little, ‘Do you know where Miles and Nora went? I thought they were going to catch up with us at the Lion’s den.’

‘They’ve probably found a party somewhere,’ he shrugged, ‘we’ll catch up with them later’

Charlie nodded ‘Yeah, what trouble can they get into in Austin,’ and she pulled him down for another kiss.

………………………………………….


	2. Part 2 - Bitches Brew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note:   
> Hi there and thanks so much for having a look at this, and for your kind comments and reviews, they are very much appreciated and make me want to write more lol!! I also wanted to thank LoveForTheStory for her patient, generous support and wonderful feedback during the writing of this story, thanks so much, Love, you are awesome (oh, and there’s a little present for you towards the end, you’ll know where it is lol!!) ☺ xx Magpie 
> 
> I don’t own any part of Revolution and am writing this purely for love of the show and its characters. 
> 
> The title of this final chapter comes from an album by the amazing Miles Davis

Miles and Nora were on the crowded open top deck of one of the steam driven buses that Texas had gained from a treaty with what was left of the Georgia Federation, doing a bit of sightseeing on the way back to the Lion’s Den after Drusilla had finally, finally let them go. 

It was cool in the breeze but the sky was clear, a full moon and masses of stars adding their light to the oil lamps, lanterns, candles and brightly dressed partygoers. It seemed like all of Austin was out partying but Miles was watching Nora as she watched the fireworks burst high above their heads, her eyes bright under the carnival mask and her gorgeous mouth curved in a smile. 

He still couldn’t quite believe that somehow and contrary to all his expectations the universe had actually done something fucking right and saved her. He hadn’t forgiven himself for leaving her behind in the Tower though, and he didn’t think he ever would. 

He hugged her a bit closer, just so he could feel her lithe, smooth muscled body alive and real in his arms, fitting against his chest and under his arm like she was made to be there… Then he realised she was pointing out the types of fireworks exploding overhead, listing the chemicals used to make the different colours, laughing up at him as her words were swept away by the wind and the steam along with the excited conversation and laughter of the other passengers. He bent closer to hear and trickling through the laughter, yells, explosions and assorted musical stuff happening around them an occasional exclamation of ‘wow…I think that one’s got a base of lithium carbonate…’ or ‘look at that one, Miles… Barium and Potassium Chlorite, lovely…’ floated to his ear in a weird litany. 

Other women looked at fashions, this one checked out the cute chemical compounds…He chuckled. Gotta love that.

He dropped a kiss on top of the shining dark hair, little strands of it catching on the bristles on his chin like sweet scented spider webs. 

She looked beautiful, Drusilla had given them yet more clothing as part of her thank you for returning her husband, and her dress, long, black and sleek was topped with a luxurious faux fur coat made her look like a movie star. The first lady appeared to have an inexhaustible supply of dresses, suits, make up and other pre-blackout luxuries and she gave them away with a careless and apparently endless generosity.

Miles looked down at himself, she’d also found tuxedos for both him and Bass, so now they looked like they were going to a wedding instead of a…well, with internet porn a thing of the past, the Lion’s Den was sort of the next best thing… He chuckled again, unless he was very much mistaken, the place was making Zara and her stakeholders, and he wouldn’t be surprised if Blanchard wasn’t one of them, very, very rich as well as providing Texas with a fortune in taxes.

And speak of the devil…

The bus squealed and puffed to a halt on the road a little way away from the Lions Den. The old sports grounds cum fairground looked uncannily like he remembered New Vegas, with carnival rides, novelty tents and gambling, fighting and other attractions brightly lit and buzzing with crowds of people of all shapes and sizes… Strangely, he couldn’t see one Texas Ranger, either they were still out to it after Blanchard doctored the whiskey last night, or they’d been asked to leave the place alone, which wasn’t totally out of the realms of possibility. Places like this often ran their own, very effective security, and preferred it that way.

The bell rang for the stop and he and Nora stood up to get off, along with most of the other passengers. 

‘Look, there’s Charlie and Bass, Miles’ They were almost at top of the stairs, waiting for a couple of large farming types to go down, and they had a great view of the entrance to the Lions Den. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree with torches and lanterns and Nora was pointing towards a tall man in a cloak and a small woman with honey coloured hair flowing down her back under her mask, passing between the big stone lions.

He looked down there, following her finger… ‘Yeah, that’s them alright…’ he’d know Bass anywhere, mask or no mask, although seeing Charlie in a dress was still something he was getting used to, as well as the fact that she was all cozy with Bass. He smiled just a little because hey, Miles Matheson didn’t do gooey although Bass had his arm round Charlie like she was the most important thing in the world and Miles knew for a fact that she was just that to him, knew that Bass was totally in love with Charlie, that he’d die – or kill - for her. And as for Charlie, well scratching that itch definitely hadn’t made it go away, because the two of them were like Bella and Edward, joined at the hip…

He hadn’t seen Bass like this over a woman since Shelley, maybe not even then. To his credit, though, Bass hadn’t made a move until Charlie gave him the ok, even though the sparks between the two of them had been so fucking obvious it was getting embarrassing. 

Now, well, he pitied the person who tried to get between them.

Then it was their turn to go down the steep spiral stairs, and Miles applied himself to getting them both down in one piece and still decent. Nora’s dress kept getting caught on bits of the railing, nearly tripping them both up, she kept treading on his stupid cloak and the damn mask kept slipping down over his eyes so by the time they finally got down and off the bus he was about ready to shoot something.

Sending the mask flying into the dust under the wheels of the bus made him feel a little better…

……………………………………..

The Lion’s Den looked almost the same as it had when they retrieved Blanchard for Drusilla earlier in the day, although there were a lot more people wandering around and the performers were different... Miles thought he saw Zara off in the distance though, swanning around like some sort of uber super model. He also spotted Bass and Charlie, starting the tour of the sights. 

He pulled out his hip flask while Nora went to find the ladies room, took a long swallow and had a look around… It was all pretty much run of the mill stuff and the scenarios were mostly standard re-runs of pre-blackout porn flicks. The main difference was that it was live action, with security guards disguised as punters discreetly keeping the audience out of touching distance of the acts, unless they’d paid to be part of them of course, like Blanchard.

The performers looked clean and healthy though, and seemed pretty enthusiastic generally. Which was a distinct improvement on his memories of Drexel’s place where the girls – and guys – were usually drugged into a sort of passive compliance… 

This sort of stuff really wasn’t his kind of thing, he preferred his sex life private, and Nora didn’t seem too bothered about it either, there weren’t enough cute fireworks or pretty explosions… They’d mainly come as back up for Bass and Charlie anyway, just in case someone hadn’t heard the news and still had the hots for Sebastian Monroe’s scalp. 

Then Miles chuckled as he watched the couple in question in front of one of the booths… Even without the cloak, Bass looked like some kind of superhero in a monkey suit in that mask, and with his hands going for his swords if anyone looked sideways at Charlie or came within three feet of her it wasn’t exactly likely that anything was going to happen.

He could see why Charlie would be curious about all this though, she’d never had the chance to play around like girls did before the blackout, to giggle with her friends about the size of some guy’s dick or get herself off on girly porn.

Then he felt slim, strong arms slide around his waist from the back, one hand sliding up over his chest and the other snaking down south to where his dick was taking a bit more notice of what was happening in the tent around them than he’d thought.

‘Hmm…hello stranger…’ Nora’s voice was a low sexy hum that vibrated through his back down and to his belly and made his dick feel even happier about the general situation.

He chuckled, his hand catching the fingers on the tag of his zip and holding them there… ’Hello yourself, and hold it right there or I’ll have to arrest you for lewd behaviour.’

She laughed, ‘really? In this place?’ she spread her fingers out, stroking him, her fingers squeezing his cock through his pants… ‘But you can arrest me anytime you want, Mr big Texas Ranger.’

He pulled her round into his arms… She’d gotten rid of that stupid damn mask and looked so fucking gorgeous laughing up at him with her breasts pressed up against him like soft brown pillows that his heart started beating double time and his breath struggled in his throat… He kissed her and her lips were warm and soft, her body leaning into his like a wet dream come true. 

After what felt like a long, long, time during which his dick just kept on getting happier, Nora pulled back a little, her cheeks flushed and her lips swollen and totally luscious… ‘Bass and Charlie look like they’re doing fine on their own, Miles,’ one of her hands stroked up over his chest and higher, holding a lion shaped tag swinging on a chain up in front of his face…‘so I booked us one of the private vans up the back,’ she grinned…’but we’ve got to hurry, it’ll be ready in five minutes but we’ve only got an hour in the room then it’s an extra three diamonds for every fifteen minutes after that…’ she stopped for breath, ‘which I’m totally up for if you are…’

He grinned back ‘you had me at private van....’ 

She led the way her eyes gleaming back at him as she threaded them through the crowds of laughing, drinking, groping, people… Past a guy balancing on a big barrel with snakes twining around him and… why the fuck would the guy want snakes to do that? Then a couple of athletic types doing some stuff on a trampoline that even he’d never seen before and really didn’t want to see again… like ever… Then through a wide tunnel lit with hanging lanterns, life size and lurid illustrations of some of the acts lining the walls, then out of the main tent until they got to a big open area, fenced off from the rest. 

Miles heaved a sigh of relief. It was good to be outside and away from the madness for a while… 

There was a shop selling all kinds of sex toys with a line of people checking it out, and a couple of guards sitting at a counter next to that checking a line of people, mostly couples, in and out of a turnstile to a semi circle of a dozen small cabins. Inside, teams of cleaning staff were running from one cabin to the next with loads of clean linen, cleaning and catering gear and laundry trolleys.

Miles pulled Nora to a stop…’are you sure about this?’

Nora shrugged, her dark hair a shining cloud around her face, ‘at least we know the sheets are clean, I’ve stayed in plenty of other places where I wouldn’t be so sure.’

He chuckled, willing to follow her anywhere… ‘Ok, as long as you’re happy.’

The guard looked up as they approached, took their lion and swapped it for one with a key, an hourglass and a gold painted wooden number one attached to it, noting the time down on a chart and waving them through with a broad, white toothed smile and a wink, ‘enjoy.’

Their cabin was at the far end of the row, the huge branches and trunk of a nearby oak tree casting long shadows over its silvery roof and white painted metal walls, the door set in the middle up three steps. There was an oil lamp on the top step already lit for them and a ‘Thank you for not smoking’ sign hanging from the door handle. 

Miles checked it out first, just out of habit but it all looked ok so they went in…

The cabin was set up like a room in a luxury bordello, the walls covered in crimson cushioned velvet, a cushion strewn double bed with padded manacles at each corner, a mirror on the ceiling and a large basket of assorted and tastefully packaged post blackout condoms at one end, pump powered wash room and a small couch next to a table with a fresh bottle of whiskey, a jug of water and a tray of glasses at the other…

‘Wow…’ Nora threw her coat and bag onto the couch, lit the lamps and pumped some water into the toilet just to watch it flush, ‘this is amazing.’

‘Yeah, although I kinda feel like I should be wearing lots and lots of gold jewellery and a big moustache…’ Miles pulled his tie off and shrugged out of his jacket, throwing them on the couch with Nora’s coat.

She laughed, walking over to him and starting on the buttons of his shirt, reefing the material over the broad, smoothly muscled shoulders, her fingers forging trails through the dark hair dusting his chest, her thumbs catching on his nipples and making him pull in a sharp breath… She leaned forward and circled her tongue over one little nubbin then the other...

Her tongue felt like hot sin itself and he let the shirt fall to the floor while her slim, strong fingers made short work of undoing his belt and pants… then, as he kicked off his shoes and somehow managed to get out the pants off over his dick, he reached around her back and slipped the zip of her dress down, the slippery fabric falling in a pool around her feet, leaving her beautifully and magically bare except for a tiny triangle of burnt orange lace that looked just like an arrow and drew his gaze like a fucking magnet.

Miles drew in another deep breath, ‘Nora, remind me to get Drusilla a big bunch of flowers, will you?’

She laughed and stepped closer, her breasts with their lovely, dusky nipples pointing up at him like treats at a feast.

He stepped around her, her smooth skin sliding over his and making his blood sing… He took her breasts in his hands from behind, teasing her nipples until they stood out like bullets, her head falling back against his shoulder, her hair cool and silky against his throat and her chest rising and falling faster as he held her tight against him. 

He slipped one hand down between their bodies, pushing his dick down and sliding it between the cheeks of her ass, thick and long and so, so achingly hard, splitting her cheeks apart around it...

She gasped and slid her pussy over him, her legs held tight together so her hips and the springy flesh of her ass closed around him and it felt almost like he was inside her already, the string of the thong catching the skin of his dick as he thrust between her legs, his cock getting slippery and shiny with her juices…

His hands moved lower, down over the taut belly and the slim hips with the hip bones like gentle guide posts to her thighs, the heat between her legs radiating up to meet his fingers, one hand sliding under the lacy fabric, his fingers finding her curls damp, her clit already pulsing, her hips jerked forwards, meeting him, wanting more… So he walked her over to the bed, pushing the little side strings of the panties down as they went, feeling them disappear as she kicked them off onto the floor… 

The bed was soft, and Nora stretched her arms out as she fell forwards over the velvet covers, her belly on the bed and her knees falling to the soft, thick carpet…Miles behind her, his cock already half inside, slipping in easily because she was so fucking wet and ready… And then he was all inside her, and she gasped, it didn’t matter how many times they did this it always felt new, it almost felt impossible but it wasn’t… he was so big and thick but so gentle too… He started off slow, with deliberate, long strokes that left her feeling like jelly, throbbing and helpless, not able to think of anything else but this, him... and as he got faster, thrusting her forwards into the soft blankets, one of his big hands slid round to her clit, his fingers playing there, circling and pinching, sliding in her juices as he fucked her until she was reeling, falling into crimson velvet sensations as they got faster and faster…

They came together, almost at the same moment, their gasps and cries almost in unison… Miles falling onto the bed beside her, both of them lying there like they’d been stunned for a few long moments…

‘Wow…’ Nora blew out a breath through her teeth… ‘That was pretty good’ she wriggled round so she could see his face... ‘For the first one anyway…’ she checked the hour glass by the bed, ‘we’ve still got plenty of time…’

Miles laughed low in his chest, ‘give an old man a chance to get his breath back…’ He leaned over and kissed her, then sat up, ‘feel like trying out some of that whiskey?’

‘Yeah, might as well seeing that I paid for it already’ 

He stood up, tall, lean and darkly muscled, his shoulders broad, chest defined, long legs well shaped and covered in dark hair, his cock and balls hanging heavy and still twitching in a dark nest of curls that snaked up in a little line from groin to belly button and up across the wide chest...

Nora looked him up and down…’you’re looking pretty damn good for an old man, Miles…’

‘You look pretty damn good too…’ He dropped to his knees again, running his hands up over her thighs, her belly and breasts, kissing her like he’d never let her go…’I never forgot you, Nora…’

She kissed him back, her eyes closing to hold her tears in, ‘I remember you telling me you weren’t going anywhere, and I knew that you’d chosen me, and it meant so much…’

‘I meant it, and then I fucking left you…’

She opened her eyes and for a moment what she was seeing didn’t make any sense… There was a clown in a carnival mask standing behind Miles, a rifle held in the gloved hands, butt end towards them…

The clown smiled, a creepy, appalling smile that sent shivers down her spine…

She sucked in a breath, then yelled it out… ‘Miles’

There was just time for her to see Miles register the fear in her eyes, in her voice but then the Clown brought the rifle butt round in a hard circle, and Miles fell sideways, limp, unconscious and bleeding from a cut over his eye. 

The clown smiled that awful, red-lipped smile again. The white make up on the cheeks and chin creasing and bleeding into coffee brown skin and the blood shot, crazy eyes behind the clown mask like something out of a nightmare… ‘Sorry to interrupt, but I need you to do something for me…’

………………………………….

Charlie woke to a heavy, frantic pounding on the door and turned to find Bass already slipping out of bed and into his jeans, his gun in his hand, the moonlight outlining muscled arms, torso, hands, face and hard metal in silver gilt and steely gleam as he moved in a rapid crouch towards the door… 

She got up, threw the coat on from last night, reached for her own gun to cover him and shot a glance at the sliver of window not covered by curtain. It was still deep night outside and it sounded like the party was still full on raging out on the streets, they could only have slept for a few minutes, an hour at the most… 

Bass opened the door a crack and peered round, his body flat back against the wall to give Charlie a clear shot, jerking in surprise when he saw who it was… ‘Nora?’ he opened the door wider to let her in, ‘Where’s Miles?’ He checked the hall outside then came back in, bolting the door behind them.

Charlie put her gun down, belted her coat and ran for the door…

Nora stumbled a little on the way in, her eyes wide, panting with exertion, her feet bare and dirty, her borrowed dress and coat torn and stained with mud and dust… ‘Thank God you’re here’ she looked at Charlie, a deep fear in them that made Charlie’s heart skip a beat…‘both of you…’ She tripped over her long skirt, reaching out for Charlie’s arm to steady herself ‘I was going to go to Drusilla if I couldn’t find you.’

Charlie pulled Nora towards one of the chairs, making her sit…‘what is it? What’s happened? Where’s Miles?’ she grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table and reefed the lid off, passing it over.

Bass was getting into the rest of his clothes, glancing over at the two of them as he did…

Nora took a long swallow, then put the bottle down, wiping her mouth with a dirty hand ‘We were in the Lion’s Den, and we’d gone into one of the private cabins…’ she shrugged ‘you know to, be on our own?’ She lifted the bottle for another swallow, gulping it down, ‘then this guy got in somehow, a guy in a clown suit. He hit Miles over the head with a rifle, knocked him out…’ She took a deep breath, ‘The guy told me to get dressed, then told me I had to go find you, and then he took his mask off…’ she stared at Charlie, her eyes full of anger mixed with horror and shame… ‘It was Tom Neville, Charlie, and he wants you and Monroe… Bass… to go there tonight, to him, or he says he’s going to kill Miles.’ 

Charlie felt the blood suddenly rush to her feet leaving her light headed, dizzy… and she slumped into the seat next to Nora’s. ‘Tom Neville? It was Tom Neville?’ Memories raced around her mind of a gun against her forehead and those blank, merciless eyes as he pulled the trigger, the empty click when she thought she was going to die. Then when he pointed a gun at her again, near the train, Bass stopping him that time… and then she remembered something else. She turned to Bass…

He was staring at them, his face white in the lamplight, mouth set into harsh lines, ‘Nora…was there a young guy with Neville, about my height? Dark hair, dark eyes?’

Nora shook her head, ‘no, it was just him.’

Bass heaved out a breath, of relief or something else, Charlie wasn’t sure…

He finished doing up his shirt, shrugged into his jacket and boots then started on his sword belts, guns and knives…’I’ll go get the horses saddled up’ he looked at Charlie, ‘you two get ready to go, I’ll meet you out front,’ He stalked to the door, then turned back, ‘Oh, and bring all the diamonds we’ve got, ok? ‘

“Do you really think Neville’ll take diamonds for Miles?’ Charlie caught his gaze, his eyes were blazing and full of deep blue fury, and she so totally shared that…

He paused then shook his head, ‘Neville won’t, they’re for Zara, if he’s paid her off we’ll need to give her more to stay out of it...’

Charlie nodded, that sounded right, it was New fucking Vegas all over again… ‘Ok…’

Nora took a deep breath, ‘what about the Texas Rangers? Or Blanchard and Drusilla? Couldn’t they help?’ 

Bass shook his head, leaning down to do up a thigh strap, the leather snapping into place with a little snick. ‘That place will be making money hand over fist with a whole pile of it going to Blanchard and the city in taxes,’ he choked off a laugh…’I’m sure as I can be that no Ranger will touch it without Blanchard’s direct say so because he won’t want to ruin his little playground, and even though Drusilla mightn’t like it she won’t jeopardise that much money coming in…’ He opened the door, ‘we’re better off taking care of Neville ourselves.’

She sat forward, shaking her head, confused… ‘But you and Miles are Rangers now, how does Neville think he’ll get away with this?’

Bass didn’t say anything…

Charlie felt her heart pound, fear for Miles digging a hole in her belly. Then she stood up, ’he doesn’t.’

…………………………………….

The ride through the streets was surreal, there were people everywhere, many of them drunk, oblivious, on foot, in wagons, on horseback, occasional fireworks going off over their heads, lighting the sky in bursts of crimson, gold and purple to loud shouts of encouragement and applause… Faces loomed up out of the shadows and the pools of lamp and candlelight, strange, eerie, their make up smeared, clothes tattered and hanging off. The music sounded loud, a cacophony of discordant voices, instruments… 

Charlie felt her fear for Miles colour everything in lurid smears, her rage growing as she kicked her horse through the crowds… Everything in this city had seemed exciting, fun before, now the people, the celebrations were just in the way, blocking her path to Miles and Tom fucking Neville, who had done more than enough to her family, he’d killed her dad, taken and hurt Danny, hurt Jason, taken Connor from Bass, betrayed and hurt them all time and time again, and now he had Miles…

She felt eyes on her, Bass…

He came up close, his horse alongside hers, eyes full of his own worry…’keep it together, Charlie, we’ve got to be smart about this. Tom’s waiting for us and he wants us to be angry, he’s trying to make us careless…’ 

She stared at him, all her fear for Miles in her eyes…

His eyes softening, he reached out a hand to hers… ’We’ll get him back, I promise, ok?’

She nodded, grasping at his certainty at the same time as she grasped his hand… ‘Yeah, we will…’

Nora came up next to them, her horse snorting and a few drunken revellers scattering out of the way, grumbling loudly as they went. She ignored them, turning to Bass and Charlie… ‘So what’s the plan?’

……………………………………..

They left the horses at the slip rails outside the gates to the Lion’s Den and headed back in. 

The guards seemed to be expecting them, waving them through to the front of the line… Bass passed them a couple of diamonds as they went past, and one of the men murmured something.

Charlie looked up at Bass as they headed towards the two stone lions and the entrance, ‘what did he say?’

‘He said Zara’s waiting for us…’

……………………………………..

Everything looked the same when they got inside. The music, the buzz of conversation, the sounds from the cubicles…the scents, the people strolling around, the dancers by the phonograph although this time it was a man and a woman, and a woman was turning the crank… it was all the same, but this time, Charlie found it easy to ignore. Instead she looked around, checking everything for possible assets, threats.

Bass had moved to protect her back the same way she had his…it was how they did things. How it was…

Nora stepped up next to them and tipped her head towards an area towards the back of the tent, ‘the cabins are over there.’ She looked from Charlie to Bass, ‘So who’s Zara?’

‘That’d be me…’ the deep, velvet voice was very close.

Charlie turned, looked up what felt like a very long way, and met the dark eyes in that beautiful, painted face. She had the feeling of being examined from top to toe, evaluated… The eyes weren’t uncaring so much as neutral, almost blank. Zara looked at her as though she was a specimen in a jar. 

Charlie shivered. 

She, and Charlie found it totally natural to think of him as a she… smiled, the full, scarlet lips tight… ‘I knew you’d come. The guy came around here a few days ago, asking about you and Miles Matheson, said he was an old friend of yours.‘ She put her cigarette to her lips and sucked in, blowing a thin line of smoke out. ‘He said he’d heard that you were both working for Texas and would be coming to Austin for the party season, he said that he had something important to tell you about your son’ she looked at Bass.

He nodded, his eyes hard, mouth set in a hard line…’go on’

‘He was very… convincing’ she shrugged and tapped her cigarette with a red tipped fingernail, sending a little waterfall of ash floating downwards. ’He offered a lot of diamonds if I let him know when I saw you…’ she shrugged again, ‘so I did, he didn’t believe me at first, but then you came back so I sent for him and he came back, dressed as a clown would you believe? And he saw for himself, I thought he’d follow you, Monroe, but one of our men saw him go into the cabin after General Matheson and then she’ she pointed her cigarette at Nora, ’came out, on her own and in a state of…well, you would have seen her.’ She tapped more ash off, ‘I’ve had someone watching the cabin since then, and the guy and Matheson are still in there.’ 

The eyes narrowed and she took another toke, breathing in deeply and letting the smoke out in a hiss between her teeth, leaning towards them…’Listen, I run a clean house, everyone here is willing and they get paid a fair wage, I pay my taxes and I don’t get involved in politics, or private feuds’ She took a step closer, her face on a level with Bass and deadly serious, ‘This is your business, he’s your problem, you sort it out and you pay for any damages to my property… I don’t care how you do it but I want it done tonight, Ok?’

Bass nodded, his face grim... ‘Understood, now where are they?’

…………………………………………

It was quiet outside, the sounds from inside the big tent and the city beyond somehow muffled…

Zara walked them to the cabins, the guard waving them through the turnstile without saying a word although Nora thought she caught the faintest glimpse of something like sympathy in the dark, deep set Asian eyes. She looked around, the cleaning crews were nowhere to be seen and all but one of the other cabins was in darkness. 

Zara stubbed out her cigarette with the toe of her red stiletto, little sparks fluttering up into the air, ‘I’ve closed the other cabins until this is over so you’ll owe me for that too…’ 

Bass nodded, ‘Done… and good thinking, this guy is ruthless and a cold killer’

‘So who isn’t, these days?’ Zara lit up another cigarette, and turned to go, looking back over a shoulder, ‘Good luck’ and she walked back towards the big tent without another look.

Nora watched her go ‘Do we have enough diamonds to pay for all that? I really don’t want to end up owing her anything.’

Charlie shrugged, ‘If we don’t, I vote we pay it off working security or ask Drusilla for a loan…’ She started walking, Nora close behind her.

Bass came up alongside, ‘Charlie?’

She looked up at him as she walked, her face set…‘I know what you’re going to say and the answer’s no.’ 

He put an arm out in front of her, stopping her from moving, ‘He wants you dead, Charlie, I’m not sure what he wants with me, but he wants you dead because of what happened with Jason.’

She heaved out a breath, ‘I know that…’ she reached a hand out, lacing her fingers through his, ‘so while he’s concentrating on me, you kill him, simple’ she tipped her head towards Nora, ‘besides, we’ve got a secret weapon...’

Nora walked past them, ‘just make sure neither of you is in front of a window, ok?’

Bass dropped his arm, his voice a hoarse whisper, ‘I can’t let anything happen to you, Charlie, not even for Miles.’

Charlie looked up at him, his face was tight and strained, his eyes catching the moonlight, making them glisten like pools and she put a hand on his chest, flat against the hard muscles, feeling his heart beating fast but steady, powerful and strong, like him… She took a deep breath in. ‘You said something to me once about a show of faith, Bass’

He nodded…putting a hand up to cover hers.

She leaned up and kissed him, soft and quick… ‘That’s what we need now, Bass. We can do this, I believe we can, he’s only a man and we’re going to kill him and get Miles back, I have faith in us, in you…’

He stared at her for a long moment, then pulled her into a fast, hard hug, ‘Ok then… let’s do it.’

Charlie checked out the cabin as the three of them walked across the grass towards it, there was a light inside that made the small windows around the sides of the cabin glow a stupid cheerful gold although she still couldn’t see anything of what was happening inside through the blinds. She unclipped her knives, her fingers restless, wanting to do something, anything…

The handle of the door began to turn.

Nora smiled, her lips tight, her eyes hard and ran into the shadows by the side of the cabin, crouching down against the wall a little way from the door, her bag in her lap…

The door was flung open, swinging out and bouncing a couple of times against the metal side of the cabin. There was no one visible on the other side, just an oblong of light and a view of the bathroom...

‘Come closer, Monroe, and bring the little Matheson bitch with you…’ Tom Neville’s voice came out of the cabin full of a gloating calm…

Charlie felt Bass tense next to her, his hands clenching into fists that relaxed as he reached for his weapons.

‘Zara said you had something to tell me, Tom, something about my son,’ Bass got closer, talking as he walked, his machete now in one hand and his pistol in the other. 

‘Are you worried that I’m going to tell you he’s dead, Monroe? Like my Jason is dead?’ there was a harsh sob in the voice, ‘I thought he’d come back to me for a while there, after you locked me and your son in that shed…but it was all a lie…’ there was a meaty thud, then another…’a stinking lie’ 

Charlie still couldn’t see anything of Neville or Miles. She moved closer, staying out of sight of the windows but her skin was crawling, waiting for a shot, a knife, something…

The voice continued, ‘D’you think that maybe I killed him to get back at the Matheson girl for killing my boy?’ the voice was getting louder, ‘Connor told me all about her, by the way…’ the voice broke off in a jagged laugh. ‘And there I was thinking she was so gone on my Jason. Did you know that, Monroe? I saw you two together, I know you’re sweet on her…did you know that she put her sweet little honey ass out there for everyone to nibble at?’

Despite knowing that this was how Neville worked, what he did to get people confused and angry, despite all of that, Charlie felt her face go red with anger, her skin burn with shame and a harsh, dreadful regret. She couldn’t look at Bass, couldn’t bear to see the look in his eyes.

Then she felt him looking at her, and she remembered her own words. She’d claimed a show of faith, so she looked back, and instead of blame or anger or disgust, she saw understanding, his blue eyes steady and calm, giving her strength.

The laugh rang out again, hard and bitter…‘don’t worry, I didn’t kill him, Monroe, the little idiot left me when I said I was coming to Austin to find you and finish this, he said he was going back to Mexico, that he’d had enough of all of us…’ the voice held a biting sneer. ‘Kids, they’re all ungrateful, all useless…’ There was the sound of a fist hitting flesh, and a muffled groan…’except as bait…’

There was silence for a moment, then ‘So this is what is going to happen, do you hear me?’

Bass signalled Charlie to move in, getting closer to the open door but leaving room for Nora to do her stuff, ’I’m listening, Tom.’

A hand appeared at the edge of the doorjamb, holding a gun, the barrel clearly visible… ‘First, I want the Matheson girl to come inside, hands up, unarmed and cooperative, and then, when she’s finished telling me exactly what happened to my boy, and why he appeared to me like he did, then you and I will have a conversation…’ the gun drooped a little, then lifted again, ‘and if she doesn’t do exactly as I say by the count of three, I will put a bullet somewhere in your precious Miles.’

Somewhere inside the cabin there was a muffled, furious denial and the sound of a body struggling. 

Charlie knew it was Miles and let a breath out she didn’t know she’d been holding.

Bass chuckled…’he’s alive, Charlie...’ then he caught Nora’s eye,

She nodded and pulled something out of her bag...

‘One…’

Nora stood up, something in her hand and the flicker of a small flame lighting her face for a second…

Charlie took a step closer ‘I’m coming in, ok?’ then she heard something behind her, fast, stealthy footprints, she turned around, and her eyes widened…

‘Two…’

‘Connor?’ Bass’ eyes held a mixture of amazement, joy and trepidation… ‘How...?’

Connor brushed past Charlie, blocking the door, a gun in his hand and his voice a harsh whisper… ’Don’t go in there, Charlie, Neville’s crazy, he wants to kill you…’

Nora pushed past him, her eyes furious, ‘Get out of my way you idiot…’

Neville’s voice came from inside, getting louder, ‘Three… What’s happening out there?’

Nora threw something in the door then turned away, covering her eyes, yelling out…’Miles, fire in the hole…’

Something exploded inside the cabin with whistling screams and bright red, yellow and green sparks flew everywhere… 

Bass and Connor swung past Nora and into the van, Charlie close behind them although there wasn’t any room to see anything through the thick smoke and roiling sparks except three dark shapes struggling up one end of the cabin, arms and legs everywhere, then there was a shout and grunt of pain that shut off suddenly, and one of the shapes fell to the ground…

Charlie stepped back quickly as Neville landed on the ground at her feet, his face painted streaky white from the cheeks down, the mouth outlined in thick red, his eyes rolling up and his head lying at a weird, twisted angle. 

Her eyes and nose streaming from the smoke and the smell of gunpowder, she felt her way forward, stepping over the body, bending down to feel for a pulse but knowing she wouldn’t find one. She knew dead when she saw it… ‘Bass, are you ok?’

Nora appeared behind her, ‘Miles? Where’s Miles?’

Bass’ voice came from up ahead of them, ‘he’s over here, he’s knocked around some but he’s alive, Neville’s dead,’ then he sounded pissed… ‘And can someone please open some windows to get rid of this smoke? I can’t see to undo these fucking manacles…’

Nora ran towards the voice, ‘I’m coming…’

Connor appeared suddenly, as Nora brushed past him going the other way, coming out of the smoke like a genie out of a bottle, a long arm reaching out to open one of the side windows, ‘Zara’s going to be so pissed, this was her favourite cabin…’

Charlie looked him up and down, her lips twisting in a grin of relief and disbelief, sort of equal amounts of both, ‘what the hell are you wearing?’

He spread his hands out, the muscles rippling up his arms and over his nicely ripped torso, bare except for a tight, black leather harness and a light dusting of dark hair, his long, long, legs braced and also bare and nicely muscled with a similar dusting of hair, then did a sideways pose, showing off some very tight butt cheeks, also bare apart from a thong string disappearing between them and the thin straps round his hips… ‘It’s my costume, do you like it?’

She checked him out. His admittedly impressive package was tucked into a shining, red, bulging and sequined triangular thong, which was pretty much all he was wearing except for the harness which had a hidden holster for his gun… She cleared her throat, ‘Wow?’ Then she had a thought…’are you in one of the acts?’

He laughed, ‘Nah, I wish… I’m security, we just have to blend in, I just came on duty and Zara told me what was going down so I thought I’d come over and lend a hand. I was sort of expecting Neville to do something like this, it’s why I came to Austin in the first place,’ He shrugged and leaned over to the other window, sliding it open. 

‘Oh…’ Charlie looked at him with a new respect, maybe things could be better for he and Bass now…

The air was clearing a little and she could see the vague outlines of a bed, Miles sitting on the edge of it, Nora next to him and Bass walking towards her and Connor…

‘He’s ok, Charlie, Nora’s helping him get his boots on, Neville gave him a real fucking working over, the crazy bastard,’ His eyes moved to Connor, ‘I’m glad to see you’re ok, Connor, thanks for helping us out’ then he stopped and focused on his son, ‘what the hell are you wearing?’

Connor shrugged, the movement doing really interesting things to his chest… ‘I work here’

Charlie honestly didn’t know if the look on Bass’ face was outrage, pride or something else entirely…

………………………………………

Some hours later….

Charlie sat down on the bed in their room back at the hotel and put her gun and knives on the bedside table while Bass finished blocking the door… She yawned, ‘I thought Zara was never going to let us go, she kept finding more things to charge us for, It’s good they had a doctor though, that was a nasty cut on Miles’ head…’

Bass came over, turned off the lamp and sank down onto the bed, sharing the yawn, ‘He’ll be ok, his head’s the hardest part of him. So how many diamonds did we end up keeping?’

She leaned over and stretched an arm over him, snuggling her face into his shoulder, ‘a couple…’ she chuckled, ‘but at least we won’t have to go work security dressed like Connor,’ Her face got serious, ‘and at least Miles is going to be ok,’ she looked up at him, ‘Nora was amazing.’

He grinned, dropping a kiss on her hair, ‘Yeah, she knows her fireworks...’

‘So, what’s Connor going to do?’

‘He’s staying, he really loves the job, says the perks are worth the outfit.’

She laughed, ‘I bet they are, and he looks cute in it…’ she stroked a hand over his chest, enjoying the feel of him, the warmth of his skin, the solid strength of him, and as her hand slid further down her fingers found a thick hard cock waiting for her. She wrapped her fingers round him, loving the slide of silken skin over the hard shaft… ’Hm… you’re not that sleepy then…’

He smiled, rolling her on top of him, ‘how’d you figure that?’

She settled her knees on either side of his hips and lifted up a little, reaching down to guide him home… The head of his cock felt big and thick as she lowered herself down over him, feeling him fill her out slowly, her inner muscles gripping him tight. She closed her eyes, just enjoying the feel of him stretching her out, so, so slowly.

When she opened them, she found him looking up at her, his so, so blue eyes catching a beam of the dawn sun just coming through the crack in the curtains, they were like pools of blue light and she lost herself in them and the feel of him inside her because he was gently, slowly thrusting up as she was sliding down over him, finding a rhythm that had them both gasping. Building it slowly, skin against skin, flesh against flesh, until she was so wet that his cock made little sucking sounds as he moved in and out of her. 

Then he paused, holding still. ‘So if Connor’s cute, then what am I?’

She laughed, her clit fluttering, her pussy holding him tight, then she stopped and leaned towards him, her lips a little way from his, her eyes looking straight into his, letting him see how much she meant it… ’You’re mine, Sebastian Monroe’

He gazed up at her, his eyes a smiling, beautiful blue, ‘good answer.’ 

Then he surged upwards, filling her up completely this time and it was almost too much, the head of his cock reaching deep, deep inside, the thickness of him pushing her breath out of her, and it was suddenly all she could feel, all she knew was him, his hands holding her there, holding her still as he made her his too, made her totally his, although she already was... 

And she kissed him, his lips firm and sweet, his tongue sweeping into her mouth as his cock filled her again, and she didn’t know if he came first or she did, but the sunlight felt like it was flooding both of them, warm and bright…

She fell asleep with him still inside her, her legs draped over his and his arms holding her tight…

………………………………………….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: well, there it is, I debated whether to split this up but I couldn’t find a spot where I was happy doing that, so I hope you didn’t mind a bit of a long one and I really hope you enjoyed it ☺
> 
> I’m off to work on my ‘Nights in white satin’ chapter now – It’s been a long time between updates, and I’d just like to say sorry to anyone who’s been with me on that one. It won’t be much longer I promise…Oh, and it's Valentine's day coming up too!! cheers and thanks for reading, Magpie :)

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Well, there you are Romeo, this turned out to be a bit of a meaty chunk of a story, but I hope you enjoyed it ☺ I was going to split it but couldn’t work out where to do it. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Xx Magpie


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